Aftermath
by Whisperwings
Summary: The battle is over, it's been won...and Harry has done everything that needs doing. Except one thing. He needs to find Ginny. He's been without her for long enough.


Harry could barely believe it was over…the party in the Great Hall was calming down now, as the exhaustion and grief overtook the triumph. Harry had returned after his talk with Ron and Hermione and their visit to Dumbledore's old office, simply sitting and watching everyone from under his cloak. Smiles and tears alike filled the room, breaking and mending his heart over and over again. He knew he couldn't stand to watch for much longer, but there was one person he needed to see. One person he needed to talk to.

She still sat at her mother's side, head drooping onto the ever supportive shoulder. She hadn't moved much, though Harry often saw her brown eyes flicking from face to face in the room. He knew, without having to be told, that she wasn't going to leave until she saw him again.

Harry slipped along the emptying tables, standing behind the two redheaded women. He waited until Mrs. Weasley turned to chat with someone else, before ducking down to whisper in Ginny's ear.

"I'm here."

"Mom, I'm tired." The girl said immediately. She didn't act as if anything out of the ordinary had happened, but Harry knew she'd heard. "I'm going up to the dormitory, I can sleep there tonight."

Mrs. Weasley nodded and kissed her forehead. "Of course, dear. We'll be heading home in the morning. I love you."

Ginny smiled, in such a way which told Harry that Mrs. Weasley had probably ended every conversation that evening with the phrase. "I love you too, Mum. Goodnight."

Harry left the hall at Ginny's side, waiting until they'd gotten far enough away before pulling off the cloak.

Instantly, the girl was in his arms, though neither knew who'd moved first. Ginny wasn't crying, just holding him tight. Harry didn't have any tears left himself at the moment, his arms just wrapping around her shoulders to hug her.

"You'll stay?"

"Yeah, Ginny. I'll stay." He promised.

"Good. I need to get…my pajamas. From the Room of Requirement."

Harry nodded, and the pair walked hand in hand through the halls. Neither said a word. Neither needed to. For right now, words couldn't even begin to convey the depth of their feelings. Happiness, sadness, grief, triumph and fear…it had all merged together in a single mass. You couldn't even separate them, they were too intertwined.

Ginny grabbed her things quickly and they left again, heading for the Gryffindor common room. Though they were the only ones in the halls, they were surrounded by movement. People in paintings were shifting about, talking and offering beds to those whose canvases had been torn or destroyed. But there were no real people about. It made the pair feel like a pair of ghosts, unseen in a crowded room.

The Fat Lady exclaimed happily at the sight of the two, bursting into tears. "I knew it! I knew you would come back!" she said, ducking low to avoid a tear above her head. "Everyone kept telling me to leave and get some rest, but I said no! I told them, Harry Potter and the other brave Gryffindors would be coming home tonight, and it was my duty to let them in."

Ginny smiled. "We don't know the password."

The Fat lady waved a hand. "There isn't one! But that's not the point, I am still here, serving you as you have served us. Thank you both, now go and get some rest, you look dead on your feet." She said warmly, the large frame swinging forward to reveal the way in.

Crawling into the familiar common room was an odd experience. Harry took a few steps forward and turned, dropping the invisibility cloak onto a chair as he took it in. Nothing in here had been touched in the battle. It simply looked as if the last student had gone to bed after a hard day of studying and schoolwork.

After everything else, it was too much. Tears rolled down the boy's cheeks, though he didn't make a sound. Ginny understood though. She had always understood. Always the one watching him, wanting to help him, wanting him to be happy.

He wasn't surprised when she didn't say anything. She simply came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He could feel the wetness from her own tears dripping onto his sleeve, but it didn't matter.

Because despite it all…she was here. And he could be here for her.

He turned and hugged her tightly, moving to the couch before the fire. He lay his cheek on her hair, feeling the comforting weight of her laying on his chest.

An hour passed. No words, just the occasional silent tear. The occasional sigh and shift into a more comfortable position. Ginny was the first to speak.

"You died."

"Yeah."

"You…you were really dead?"

"Only for a few seconds. Though it felt like more."

"But you came back?"

"I wasn't done."

"You can do that?"

"Most can't…only reason I could was because of Voldemort. I was the final horcrux…" he whispered, though he knew Ginny didn't understand. "I'll explain the whole thing later, I promise. For now…let's just say that I had a piece of him with me. That's what died."

"Oh…well, I'm glad." She whispered, a slight stiffness in her voice.

Harry's lips twitched into a tiny smile and he lifted her chin. "Me too."

It was Ginny who moved first, shifting upwards to press her lips to his. It was much like the kiss from Harry's seventeenth birthday, which was something he still dreamed about most nights. It was so full of emotions that were impossible to place. Except one. Love.

If Harry had never been told by Dumbledore that Love was the most powerful thing in the world, this kiss would have told him just that. He knew that nothing, nothing that had happened over the past few crazy years…none of it reached his soul in quite the way Ginny's lips could.

When she pulled away, both of them had to gasp for air, though it still hadn't been enough. It was like a drug, neither wanted to stop. But when Ginny moved again, Harry stopped her with a finger on her lips.

"What?"

"Ginny…I'm sorry. About everything. Not being able to tell you what was happening, about Fred, about what you've had to go through this year, for not being here with you…I'm sorry."

The girl did the most surprising thing. She smiled. "Harry. You don't have to be. It's not like it was your fault, it's not like you asked for any of this. And I don't want to be unhappy tonight…" she shook her head firmly.

"Tomorrow is the beginning of a new world. A world without Voldemort. But it's not over yet. His supporters are still out there, new dark wizards will appear…Voldemort wasn't the first, and he won't be the last. And before that happens, we have some huge messes to clean up." She smiled sadly and reached up, tracing a finger down his nose and along his chin, smiling at the stubble there.

"Tonight is the time between all that…between one job and another. Tonight…please let me think only about you." She whispered.

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He sat up, in the same movement pulling her face to his and allowing her presence to take over his world. Tonight it was just the two of them. Because she was right. Tomorrow would be just as hard as today had been, if in different ways.

Tonight…tonight he had her. Ginny, his wonderful, strong, brave, beautiful Ginny, the girl he'd literally been dreaming about for so long. The girl he'd longed to hold and kiss and call his own. She had been so far away for so long…but tonight, she was here. She was his. And he knew right then, that he would never ever let her go again.

Maybe they were a tad young to get married…but he didn't think she'd mind a long, secret engagement in the meantime.

_Very short, I know. But this is my first piece of HP fanfiction, so take it easy on me, lol. I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to write a little something on it, and then she begged me to go ahead and do so, so I did, lol. Maybe someday i'll get enough of my real story done so I can post it on here ^^;_

_Your Humble Authoress,_

_Whisperwings  
_


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